Paper clip



y 6, 1- A. ELNES 2,240,693

PAPER 051? Filed April 26, 1940 IN VENTOR ATTdRNEY.

Patented May 6, 1941 PAPER CLIP Army 0. Elnes, Duluth, Minn, assignor pfonehalf to Clarence H. Taylor, Duluth, Minn.

Application April 26, 1940, Serial No. 331,737

4 Claims.

This invention relates to paper clips, and has special reference to thattype usually constructed of a single piece of wire, and the instantinvention is deemed especially novel in that what may be termed a rightand left hand clip is provided, and the opposite ends of which areselectively applicable to an object to be held thereby.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a more practicalclip, and one susceptible of various uses.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will app-ear in thefollowing description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisapplication, and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is an enlarged plan view of one of the clips.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of clip.

Figure 4 is a plan view of another modified form of clip.

In the drawing, I represents the centermost portion of the piece of wireor metal strip of which the clip is composed, and which extendsdiagonally in respect to the medial line of the clip towards one endthereof, for example, as at 2, and shaped in the form of a somewhattriangularly shaped bight r loop, the free terminal 3 of which isreturned upon one side of the central portion 1 and slightly spaced fromthe center thereof towards said loop with the extreme end thereofterminating slightly short of the loop 4. This loop 4 extends towardsthe end forming the loop 2 and parallel with the free end 3 of saidlatter loop resulting in the clip being identical at both ends and themedial line of each loop being spaced upon either side of the medialline of the clip, thus providing an unobstructed entrance for paper orthe like adjacent one side of each terminus of the clip.

Obviously such a structure provides means for simple and readyapplication of the clip to a piece of paper from either end thereofbetween the free end of either looped portion and the central portion ofthe clip.

It is to be noted also that where the free parallel portions 3 and 5engage the central portion I they are preferably somewhat crimped as at6 to augment the gripping properties thereof when paper is impingedtherebetween.

While in Figures 1 and 2 are illustrated the preferred form of simpleclip, attention is directed to Figure 3, wherein the bights or loops areparts of a circle and the medial line of the clip is through the axes ofthe bights, and this structure may result in a more readily applied clipto the object to be held thereby, especially when such clips are verysmall in size.

In Figure 4 is shown a clip wherein the relation of the bights to themedial line of the clip is substantially identical with those shown inFigure 1 of the drawing, but the loops or bights are parts of a circlesimilar to those shown in Figure 3.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. A paper clip formed of a single piece of wire having a straightdiagonally disposed body portion, two spaced bights extending fromopposite ends of said body portion forming the opposite termini of theclip, the free ends of the wire extending in parallel spaced relationtransverse the body portion thereof, one upon either side of said bodyportion.

2. A paper clip formed of a single piece of wire and having a maindiagonally disposed body portion, spaced loops at opposite ends of saidwire, adjacent the ends of the body portion, the free ends of said loopsextending in spaced and parallel relation, and crossing the main bodyportion one upon either side thereof in an opposite diagonal direction.

3. A paper clip formed from a single piece of wire and comprising a maindiagonally disposed body portion, spaced loops projecting from oppositeends of said body portion, the free ends of said loops being straight,parallel, spaced, and crossing the main body portion, one upon eitherside thereof in an opposite diagonal direction, each being arched at itsintersection with the body portion so that the remainder of said clipremains normally in the same plane.

4. A paper clip formed from a single piece of wire the opposite endportions of which are formed into identical oppositely disposed loopsconnected by an obliquely disposed straight, main body portion, the freeends of which loops are straight and cross said main body portion at anoppositely disposed oblique angle and in Spaced relation.

ARNY O. ELNES.

